Nate Giorgio had one big problem during his freshman year at Schuylkill Valley: He was too small.

Giorgio barely tipped the scales at 90 pounds and was less than 5 feet tall. Although he went 28-13 last season, his big determination and heavy arsenal of moves often were outweighed by his size.

"I knew that size was an issue," Giorgio said. "I just kept my head up, kept working hard, got a little bigger and came back this year."

Giorgio weighs nearly 103 this season. Although he isn't the biggest 103-pounder, he often is the best.

Giorgio won his first Berks, District 3-AA Section II and District 3-AA titles during a 42-7 season.

By finishing fourth in last weekend's Southeast Regional tournament, Giorgio earned a trip to the PIAA Wrestling Championships at Hershey's Giant Center.

He is one of six Schuylkill Valley wrestlers and among the 13 Berks Class AA wrestlers who will open the three-day tournament Thursday morning.

"Last year all the bigger kids would just beat me because of size," Giorgio said. "This year I'm about the same (size)."

When everything was equal in junior high, Giorgio was a dominant wrestler. But that was at 75 and 80 pounds. In high school, the lightest weight is 103.

Despite his stature, Giorgio decided to make the jump to the varsity team as a freshman to gain experience. It didn't come without taking a few lumps.

"It has to be somewhat frustrating for any kid who has been dominant from an early age," Schuylkill Valley coach Duane Maurer said. "It's a little hard when they're there. You just have to try to encourage them and get them through everything."

With the help of Maurer; his older brother, Mike; and his parents, Nate Giorgio persevered and took huge steps forward this season. He played a major role in helping Schuylkill Valley win its first Berks team title since 1997 and its first 3-AA team title in 10 years.

Giorgio went 4-0 in his trip to the Giant Center last month to help the Panthers finish third among Class AA teams in the PIAA team championships.

That experience, along with the time he spent taking his lumps against bigger opponents last season, could help Giorgio find his way to the medal stand Saturday.

"One of the thoughts is that it's not necessarily a bad thing," Maurer said about being undersized. "What it forces them to do is they have to be pure with their skills or they get whopped. If you're bigger or stronger than everybody, you can do things wrong and still win. But if everybody else is 10 pounds or 15 pounds heavier than you, you've got to be perfect."

Giorgio still stands just 5 feet tall but is among the strongest 103-pounders due to his extensive strength training.

With continued growth, Giorgio could start next season at 112 and drop to 103 by the end of the season to exploit the size advantage over younger opponents.

Now that's what you could call tipping the scales in the other direction.

"He's worked very hard at it," Maurer said. "He invested a lot of time. He's earned his way."